Unlicensed and Unshackled:
A Joint OSP-OET White Paper on Unlicensed Devices and Their Regulatory
Issues
FCC OSP Working Paper Series

Translation in the
Overseas Telecommunications Journal
Published by the Research Institute of Telecommunication Economics,
Japan (RITE)

Abstract

In this paper, we present a survey of the origins of unlicensed
wireless devices, their governing regulation, the current technological
state of the art, an overview of the market with information from
publicly available sources, and an analysis of the potential regulatory
issues. Unlicensed wireless devices are permitted to emit radio
frequency energy, without specific authorization, registration, or
grant of a license. Today, millions of unlicensed devices are already
in operation in a multitude of important uses for industry, medicine,
government, national defense, and in the homes. The market for
unlicensed wireless communications devices is experiencing
unprecedented growth into a multi-billion dollar industry – quite
striking in light of the severe downturn in the U.S. telecommunications
and technology sectors. Unlicensed devices advance the public interest,
necessity, and convenience for the American people by enabling
applications not possible with wires or that do not require the
acquisition of spectrum rights through the licensing process. However,
without a forward-looking approach to policy reform addressing the
fundamental problem of interference and maintaining these low entry
barriers to spectrum, much of the benefit and promise of unlicensed
devices may be delayed, or unrealized. We conclude that the effective
policy reform includes enabling more unlicensed spectrum and
promulgating rules to encourage technological and market-based
solutions to optimize efficient use and sharing of spectrum.

Johannes M. Bauer, Governing
the Networks of the Information Society: Prospects and Limits of Policy
in a Complex Technical System, (Quello Center for Telecommunication
Management and Law Working Paper 01-04, 2004) available at
quello.msu.edu/wp/wp-04-01.pdf (last viewed July 7, 2006).

Scott Graham and P.R. Kumar, The Convergence of Control, Communication, and Computation.
Working Paper, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and
Coordinated Science Laboratory, Univ.
of Ill. At Urbana-Champaign
available athttp://decision.csl.uiuc.edu/~prkumar/ps_files/PWC2003.pdf

James Miller, The
“Ham and SDR Sandwich”: Innovation and Enforcement Issues for Free and Open-Source
Software on Software-Defined Radio Devices.Available at
web.si.umich.edu/tprc/papers/2005/480/SDR-HAM-JamesMiller.pdf (last
viewed July 7, 2006).

Comments of the New American
Foundation et al., In the Matter of Unlicensed
Operation in the TV Broadcast Bands, ET Docket No. 04-186.In the Matter of Additional Spectrum for Unlicensed
Devices Below 900 MHz and in the 3 GHz Band, ET Docket No. 02-380.(Nov. 30, 2004) available athttp://www.mediaaccess.org/programs/broadband/BcstBandsFINALforNAF.pdf
(last visited July 7, 2006).

Comments of Ambient Corporation,
In the Matter if Carrier Current Systems Including Broadband Over Power
Line Systems, ET Docket No.03-105.In the
Matter of Amendment of Part 15 Regarding New Requirements and
Measurement Guidelines for Access Broadband Over Power Line Systems, ET
Docket No. 04-37.available atwww.columbia.edu/~alan/bpl/ambient-nprm-comments.pdf
(last viewed July 7, 2006).

Reply Comments of The New
America Foundation et al., In the Matter of Amendment to Parts 1, 21,
73, 74 and 101 of the Commissioner’s Rules to Facilitate the Provision
of Fixed and Mobile Broadband Access, Educational and Other Advanced
Services in the 2150-2162 ans 2500-2690 MHz Bands, WT Docket No 03-66
(Oct. 2003) available athttp://www.mediaacess.org/NAF_IFTS_REPLY_COMMENTS_FILED10_23.pdf
(last viewed July 7, 2006).

Ex
Parte Comments of Prometheus Radio Project, et al., In
the matter of Establishment of an Interference Temperature Metric to
Quantify and Manage Interference and to Expand Available Unlicensed
Operation in Certain Fixed, Mobile and Satellite Frequency Bands, ET
Docket No. 03-237 (June 18, 2004).

Ministry of Public
Administration & Information-Telecommunications Division (Republic
of Trinidad and Tobago), Free Spectrum For All: Policy on License
Exemption of Systems in the 2.4 GHz and 5.8GHz Bands, (Draft Proposal,
April 2004) available athttp://www.fastfoward.tt/files/cms/Policy_on_License_Exemptions.pdf
(last viewed July 7, 2006).

Robert Horvitz, Media
Licensing, Convergence and Globalization, Conference-“RE:Activism:
Re-drawing the Boundaries of Activism in a New Media Environmemnt,” (Budapest,
HUN October 14-15, 2005)
available atwww.volweb.cz/horvitz/os-info/reactivism-horvitz.pdf
(last viewed July 7, 2006).

The FCC Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis’ Working Paper
Series presents staff analysis and research in various states. This
working paper series is a successor to and builds on the Office of
Plans and Policy’s working paper series. These papers are intended to
stimulate discussion and critical comment within the FCC, as well as
outside the agency, on issues in communications policy. Titles may
include preliminary work and progress reports, as well as completed
research. The analyses and conclusions in the Working Paper Series are
those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of other
members of the Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis, other
Commission Staff, or any Commissioner. Given the preliminary character
of some titles, it is advisable to check with authors before quoting or
referenc ing these working papers in other publications. This document
is available on the FCC’s World Wide Web site at www.fcc.gov/osp/workingp.html.